Sunday, January 5, 2014

Imagine you’re at the movies. You’ve settled into your seat
with popcorn and a cold drink. The lights dim, the sound comes up. And there’s a
blank screen. After a few seconds, a scrawny guy walks out in front of the screen. He looks out into the audience,
eyes magnified with glasses too large for his face. He points to the left
corner of the screen. “That’s where Ida lives,” he says. He begins to tell you
all about Ida. She’s twenty five years old. Her father was an engineer. She has
dark hair and green eyes. Last Tuesday, she wore a red blouse to work.

Then he points to the right side of the screen. “That’s where
Herman lives.”He goes on to tell you
Herman has a crew cut and likes to wear khakis. He’s in the CIA, but the
neighbors don’t know that, they think he works at the Post Office.

How long would you stay to watch?My guess is not very long. It’s not likely
that listening to someone tell you about the movie is what you went to the movies
for. You came to see a movie, to experience the actors talking,
to be captivated by the action and awed by the scenery.

Readers, too, want to experience the story. They want to
hear characters. They want to see the surroundings. They want to experience
the action.

This, in a nutshell, is the reason for that old adage—Show don’t
tell.As writers, it’s our job to give
readers an experience. Let them see, hear, and feel what’s going on. Show them,
so they can see it firsthand.